Customer Reviews

Animals Suns & Atoms

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tarwater's last two albums were mainly very atmospheric and relaxed, and apart from a few exceptions, there were not voices. This album is different. The music is somewhat more agitated, and somebody is singing or rather talking. Imagine a relaxed Lou Reed minus all the stupid rock'n'roll attitude and minus the wasted NYC personality - that is actually what I was reminded of when I listened to this album. It is great. You will like it if you liked their previous albums. If you haven't ever heard their music you might like it if you like relaxed and atmospheric music or if you like Lou Reed and can't stand his attitude. Ah, yes, I gave their last ablum five stars, and that's why this one only gets four. It is not as great.

Oh Damn Stereotypes! We have this human tendency to label everything, from values, to music to people.

Latin Americans are usually identified as passionate and lazy; British are classified as cold and reserved. And the people who concerns us on this review, Germans . . . They are considered to be so cerebral and cold (even more than the British, for that matter).

When you listen to Tarwater, if you have these kind of stereotypes in your head, you hardly can believe that this record was made by Germans. Their most recent opus, Animals, Suns & Atoms confirms once more that it does not matter where you are from to create music this warm and emotional. I doubt people can perceive music like this as cerebral. And this is just what they wanted!

In Animals... Tarwater seems to use the same methods they had used in Silur (burning rhythms, experimentation with samplers -somewhat decreased, though - and new technologies, quotations of excellent writers, visionaries and philosophers...) yet the group's music sounds completely different, with the (natural) exception that it has Tarwater' s personal trademark. This record is less atmospheric and dense than its predecessor, perhaps sweeter, softer, more gentle and rhythmic. But, definitely, Animals, Suns & Atoms has the same sense of risk and cleverness that made Silur wonderful in the first place.

It is really difficult to name the standouts here. But it is good to mention some of them. The peaceful Somewhere has an ocean-like sound that makes it ideal for a brief meditation. The danceable At Low Frequency, has a catchy phrase: "Man is the most adaptable machine in the world, they say".The trippy Noon, my personal favorite, has a couple of other catchy sentences and a beautiful and wisely chosen female voice (courtesy of a girl called Justine Electra). This easily recalls some of Moby's greatest moments (particularly, when he goes downtempo), or Massive Attack. The upbeat and danceable Early Risers, is as close to dub as Tarwater can get, but with a futuristic glimpse. Finally, The Trees and Seven Ways to Fake a Perfect Skin are themes created in the most sensual trip-hop tradition, but (like occurred in Silur), with a very German touch.

This record is one of the best of the year 2000.

Compared with the shimmering dub and sampledelic landscapes of their previous albums, Tarwater's latest is something of a lacklustre disappointment. In fact, precious little of their trademark hypnotic basslines remain and the music is reduced to fairly standard synthetic techno. The album is still a cut above most releases and some of the tracks have glimpses of Tarwater magic, but overall it's a less engaging and more sterile offering. First check out "Silur", then "11/6, 12/10" and finally move on to this album as a last resort.

Lethargic, detatched spoken vocals over drab, uninteresting tracks, sound good? Knock yourself out. I don't know what you might call compelling on this thing. Certainly not the melodies (god forbid), or the lyrics or the 'atmosphere'. This record practically defies you to pay attention to it, or to remember anything about it once it ends. Maybe it's the sobriety talking, but this is [boring]